There was a bunch of chatter on our desk before the Close about a dead market. DQ, a solid young trader, was complaining, “The energy stocks stopped moving. They don’t move that well after 2:30. Nothing is movin.” I remarked, “So take a look at some of the financials, young fella.” MER was sitting there at 25, bobbing and weaving … Read More
Scalping
Scalping is an important trading technique for new traders to learn. Yesterday was a great example for why. But let me take a step back. Every so often we get a cocky young student who strides into my office and asks direct questions. The last young such kid started with, “do you just teach scalping techniques?” A perfectly legitimate question. … Read More
Managing Your Profitable Position
During the fourth of July weekend I wrote about oil being ridiculously overpriced (see the blog entry here:Wicked oil). Over the next 2-3 sessions after blogging about it, oil sold off hard ($144 to the low $130s) but it didn’t necessary top off the way I had expected. It was a good sign but I did not have confirmation for … Read More
AM Meeting Summary
CHK–Support 48/48.30 Resistance 49.60. FNM–Support 11.80 Resistance 12.60. XTO–Resistance 49.20 Support 48. WDC–Support 30. WFR–Support 42 Resistance 44. QCOM–Support 51.70 Resistance 54. WM–Big Seller at 4.04 yesterday. Followup (11:15AM): When FNM failed to break above 12.60 we shorted and covered in front of the 11.80 support. When the support dropped we traded it on the short side again for another … Read More
Spreading Yourself Too Thin
Earnings season is an exciting time for us as traders. As Bella puts it, this is our Superbowl. Today was a great example of why this is an exciting time. I love being on the bus on my way to work scanning through briefing on my phone and seeing that a few of stocks I trade well have reported and … Read More
Sometimes You Just Gotta Be More Aggressive
I had a great day today. Actually, I feel like this could be the best I’ve traded in the past year. When I woke up this morning I was excited because there were a bunch of stocks that I’ve traded that had earnings today. And when the market opened, I was all over the place. My alerts were going off … Read More
A Bet That Paid Off
My primary focus for the past few years has been making money intraday. But occasionally I observe a pattern that causes me to take an overnight position. Around 10:30AM on Friday FNM had a very powerful breakout through $12. It topped out around $14. During the afternoon there was some selling and it traded as low at $12.40. But during … Read More
Plays to Add Size
One of our traders, CBA, made a chop in HON into the Close. And even better CBA got me into the play as well. I like that excellent communication at SMB Capital. CBA is a conscientious trader. He watches tapes of his trading over the weekend (I saw him this very Saturday watching such tapes in our office), keeps a … Read More